Project Phem
by Gummyjellyfish36
Summary: Merely a prologue/ prequel to our actual story. 2 demigods and a satyr are sent out to Greece to scout out Gaea's plans when something goes terribly wrong. (This takes place after House of Hades and between Final Warning and Max). Read & Review please.
1. Chapter 1

**_Authors Note_****-** This story is written by two people, EpicJellyfish7 and Gummybear66. This is our first fanfiction. We hope you enjoy!

** This is EpicJellyfish7 and I will always type author's notes in bold.**

_And this is Gummybear66, I will always type the author's note in italics. this story is written by both of us, we didn't just write a chapter each, but actually spent a lot of time trying to get this right, with each of us adding bits and proofreading. This story is going to be a three part prologue, to our story that will be posted later on. We just wanted to see how readers would react to the story so far. Also, any other italic or bold listed after the squiggles is __**not**__ an author note._

**Contest: We try to make a lot of references to a lot of different media. So, whoever can find the most references out of the 3 parts will get a chapter dedicated to them in the actual story. It's not much, but still fun to do. **

**This takes place after House of Hades and between Final Warning and Max.**

Judith awoke with a start. She had just had a dream, but not a normal demigod dream. Instead she had seen Apollo and he had said... Something. She hoped it wasn't important. Then again, when were demigod dreams anything but important?

Judith looked over at Henry, who was lying beside Fern on a sleeping bag. He didn't appear to have been visited by the god of prophesies and told to go find some vampire. No instead his blond hair fell over his eyes and his breathing was nice and even. Meanwhile Fern was tossing and turning, saying something about coffee. She couldn't help but laugh, ever since she had met Fern she knew of his unhealthy coffee addiction.

Still, not remembering her dream was weird, especially for demigods, who usually have extremely vivid dreams and can learn valuable information from them. She tried to remember everything that happened, from meeting Apollo in his chariot and him talking about a vampire to his parting words of "I am so awesome."

'Of course,' she reminded herself, 'Apollo is the god of poetry, and his last line was not only five syllables, but ended the same way most if his haikus do. Now if only I could remember the first two lines...' After racking her brain she simply forgot about it and went back to sleep.

'Maybe I'll remember in the morning' she thought as the hoots of owls lured her to sleep.

"Wake up!" shouted Henry the next morning. Groggy still from last night, Judith was slow to actually move out of her sleeping bag. She had dim thoughts of Apollo and vampires, but was only more confused by them. Fern, however was adamant about getting up, last night he had rigged a coffee machine to go off of leaves instead of electricity. That wasn't all though, apparently he felt like 'danger was flying in,' probably just one of his weird satyr senses all hyped on coffee.

"Hey guys, I had a strange dream last night." Judith finally spoke up.

"Oh really, the demigod had a strange dream?" Henry said with mock concern.

"No, I mean yes, but it was different this time!"

"How so?" Fern inquired, looking up over the rim of his coffee cup.

"Well for one thing, Apollo visited me. And gave me some sort of haiku prophecy poem."

"'Haikou prophecy poem?' You do realize how that sounds, right Judith?"

Ignoring Henry and Fern's snickers she recited the haiku,

"'Danger is coming

Contact Fang to receive help

I am so awesome.'"

"That's Apollo all right, only he would end a life-saving prophecy like that." Henry chuckled.

"Although you have to give him credit for finally following the rules of a haiku. Although, what's with the 'Fang' thing? Is he a person or an it?" Fern responded.

Judith wasn't sure, but at least she understood why vampires kept popping up in her mind.

"You guys want to contact Chiron now?" Fern asked the others. They had just finished cleaning up camp and were prepared to begin the next step of their quest. Judith remembered Chiron wanted them to check up with him every day to make sure they were okay.

"I've got a drachma if you can make the rainbow," Henry said, pulling a golden coin out of his pocket. Fern quickly blew a few notes on his pan pipes and a sparkling rainbow appeared in the sunlight. Henry flipped the coin into the mist and said the familiar chant,

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please except this offering and show me Chiron, at Camp Half-Blood." The mist changed to show the face of Chiron concentrating on a game of pinochle with Mr. D.

"Hey Chiron! Taking a break from saving the world, are we?" Henry said with fake shock. Chiron only sighed. He was not in the joking mood.

"Are you kids all right? Were you attacked very often from monsters?" He sounded tired, like all the years in his life were finally starting to take a toll on him.

"On our way here of course, but since we entered Greece it's been relatively quiet. I'm worried that we might face an even worse monster since there haven't been any small attacks." Judith told Chiron. He seemed to think about for a little bit before speaking up again.

"You guys just need to be careful and keep a watchful eye. I'm not sure what Gaea is planning, but you're right Judith. If you haven't had small, daily attacks, then it probably means Gaea is saving her energy to bring forth a larger enemy. I hope you don't encounter a giant."

"Don't worry Chiron, we'll be fine. How about in a day or two we Iris Message you again so that you know we're safe?" Chiron looked to Fern, who just spoke, and nodded his head.

"Oh, and Chiron?"

"Yes Fern?"

"Can you tell Grover I said hi?"

"Of course," Chiron said, his gaze softening. Fern was a good friend of Grover's, especially after Percy went missing.

"Be safe," started Chiron, "and please don't forget to send a message. We can't afford to lose any more troops. If you need help, the Seven are not far from you, and may be able to come to your aid."

"Thank you Chiron. We'll contact you later!" Judith said before cutting off the message with a swipe of her hand.

After talking to couple dryad spirits, Fern walked over to where Judith and Henry were hiding behind a rather large eucalyptus tree trunk.

"So I was asking the tree spirits if they knew anything about the compound, but none of them would speak with me. The only one who did was a dying olive tree ranting about 'poisoned water' and 'filthy experiments.' Any idea what that might mean?"

"Not sure. Were you able to ask any of them about the 'Fang' thing?" responded Henry.

"Well I asked all of them, but none of them gave me answer. Although the olive tree said something that sounded suspiciously like 'cursed internet'. Then of course she went back to her rant."

"What does that mean? Does Fang have a Facebook or something?" Henry asked. "I hate the lack of answers we have. Couldn't Apollo have been a little more helpful?

"Maybe he's got his own website?" Judith responded. She was starting to think this quest was getting them nowhere, Chiron probably meant well, but honestly, how much damage could a mini scout team do against an Ancient Greek Earth goddess? They at least needed some powerful demigods, like Percy or Jason or Annabeth.

"So what's the plan?" Fern asked.

Despite the nearly four year age difference, making him only two years older, Fern always looked to Judith or Henry (mostly Judith) to do anything. The minute they left camp Fern was constantly asking her, "What's next?" Or "Where to now?" It got annoying, but at least Judith had an answer. Unfortunately, Henry usually looked to Judith as well, probably because she was a daughter of Athena. She didn't like it though, Judith was meant to be a follower, a smart follower albeit, but just a follower. She had never even led a quest before! Henry had been picked by Chiron, and of course Henry picked her and Fern to go with him. But he was the son of Nike, goddess of victory and born leader! Of course he would be the one to lead them. Even if Judith had more power and Henry's mom was only a minor goddess, Henry had all the confidence. She was happy at the time to go with him, but she didn't expect to be the one leading.

She _was_ the daughter of Athena though, so of course she had a plan already formulating. Time to step out of her comfort zone and lead.

"I wish Annabeth were here, she's the genius."

"So are you!" Fern encouraged.

"All right, I say we start off at the back..."

They were sneaking around the back of the building, Henry leading the way inside through a broken window low to the ground. Unfortunately the inside of the building looked just as bad as outside, even worse because of spilled soap fermenting everywhere. A rat ran under one of the tables, but slipped on some soap, sliding out until he hit Henry's shoe. He stifled a gasp as the rat shook itself off and scampered away again. Fern was trying not to laugh, but a few chuckles were still heard. Judith didn't even realize what happened after the rat slid.

"Hey guys, if this is a soap factory, abandoned for who knows how long, how does it manage to still have liquid soap?" Before Henry or Fern could answer, she walked over to a cluster of tables and found where the rat had slid.

"Nooo! Who would commit such a diabolical act?!" Fern cried. Henry and Judith couldn't help but laugh at the sight- Fern sobbing over a spilled mug of coffee under a table, in the middle of an abandoned soap factory, with rats in all the corners and paint peeling from the walls. It wasn't until Judith heard the footstep that her mind finally kicked into gear.

"Once again I ask you guys this, if the soap factory is abandoned, how is there coffee in the cup, how did it fall and manage to keep the soap still, uh, soapy, and how is there steam coming off of it?"

"Oh relax Judith, why would Gaea even have a base here in the first place?"

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this place. Haven't you noticed the obvious lack of monster attacks, in Greece of all places? You'd think there would be monsters at every turn! And yet we haven't even seen one." Judith was seriously contemplating turning around and running back to Camp Half-Blood until Fern spoke up.

"Well, there was that olive tree dryad. She was pretty mean, I bet she could be a monster."

"We'll she's not a monster, at least not in the literal sense. However, I suppose your little associate could be one metaphorically. After all she told me your whereabouts and led me right to you. I have to say, I'm kinda upset that my surprise was ruined when I knocked over my mug in the rush to hide. I should've known a daughter of Athena would be part of this mission and expose my mistake. Although, the real creature to blame is actually the rat, for alerting your attention to it in the first place."

Judith felt her blood run cold and saw that Fern and Henry were both paralyzed, with Fern still sitting on the floor at the puddle of coffee flavored soap. Standing in front of them was a blond haired guy, in his late teens probably, with a scar going down his face. Judith tried to remember if she had seen him before, but her mind was a blank slate, aside from constantly screaming 'Oh my gods!' over and over again.

"Oh Judith, don't you know who I am? No? I can literally see your mind at work trying to figure me out, but I suppose you wouldn't have been around to know me. Never mind then, it will all be clear soon. Meanwhile, I believe a very _very_ old friend of yours would like to see you. I wonder if he'll remember Henry too, although I don't believe the satyr was here before."

"I don't know who you are, but we aren't going to be meeting any 'old friend' of ours today" Henry's voice rang loud and clear at the boy, who only sneered at him.

"Bring it on, demigods."

Judith was feeling numb as the boy shackled her, Henry, and Fern together before leading them toward a closed door. He had just singlehandedly taken down the three of them, even defeating Fern's powerful woodland magic. Henry was no match for this boy's sword fighting skills and Judith could barely find a method to his madness. They all were way outmatched and now, prisoners. Judith couldn't stop focusing on moves that could have turned the battle in their favor, reviewing the entire battle in her head as they walked. She didn't even notice when Henry started asking questions until he practically shook her shoulder.

"Who was he talking about? Who is he?" When all she did was give him a blank stare, Henry elaborated.

"The traitor. Who was the traitor and who is that guy?"

Judith had no answer for him, but Fern seemed to be thinking hard about it.

"The olive tree dryad, the one I tried to talk to. She must have been listening to us while you explained the plan Judith. She probably told this guy all about it. That was what he meant when he first walked up about her being a monster. I don't really know who he is either, but apparently you know the person he's taking us to." Judith barely remembered what the guy had said before he whooped their butts, but apparently Henry and Fern were all knowledgeable about it.

'Should be opposite' she thought to herself. The girl going over what was said and the boys talking about the battle; especially when godly heritage was thrown in the mix.

"I wish I did, but I've never even seen the guy before! Much less what 'very old friend' he would be talk-"

"I don't seem to remember allowing you to converse with each other, especially if I'm not included in the conversation. As fun as it is to hear you contemplate on my identity, I prefer the fear-filled quiet."

Judith turned to look back at Henry and Fern, silently hoping the poor dryad didn't tell the guy anything and was instead planning a rescue mission.

The strange boy pulled Judith and her friends down a long dark corridor before stopping in front of a picture frame with a fat prince of Whales holding a bottle of 'Clean Scrub Bubbles! Shampoo.' She moaned inwardly as a retina scanner appeared and proceeded to scan the blonde's eyes.

'So much for a rescue mission' she thought to herself. After the scan was completed, a metallic voice announced their presence,

"Welcome to the School! Location- Greece. Subject 264 has been granted entrance. Judith, Henry, and Fern have been granted entrance with Subject 264. Have a nice day!"

"Somehow I get the feeling we're not going to have a nice day" Fern whispered from behind. She nodded her head in agreement. Suddenly, the wall in front of them pulled apart revealing the interior of an elevator. She didn't believe there was anything to go up towards, which meant they were headed down. They all clambered inside and, as Judith figured, 264 pressed the down arrow of the elevator. She couldn't help but wonder what could be 'down' below them except the underworld, which she didn't feel like visiting any time soon.

The elevator ride went by in silence, playing the old disco song, Stayin' Alive.

"What a preppy song before your complete and utter demise" 264 said, smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Author's Note-_**

_Yay! Chapter two is up of our prologue! This has been really fun to write and I hope our readers out there are enjoying reading it._

**Yes, terribly exciting. To any readers, please leave a review or I will find you and force you to tell us how our story is going. I'm taking it as a compliment that Zane Frost borrowed our prologue idea. PLEASE review! I like to see the little red review word next to our story. I review yours, so you can review ours. Thank You!**

_We really would appreciate reviews so that we know how we're doing, I'm sure you would like your stories to be reviewed as well. Without further ado, here is chapter two!_

_(I can't figure out how to do a page break, so now we have this line talking about it that will be a page break)_

Henry was tired, shackled, and being led to his demise, at least according to 'Subject 264'. It didn't help that Fern kept mumbling behind him about coffee and wanting 'one last drink before he died.' Frankly, Henry couldn't stop thinking about how great an American cheeseburger sounded right about now. All he had had that morning was a nice, fulfilling breakfast of tree bark (thanks Fern) and the final pieces of beef jerky.

Henry really didn't mind the elevator song. It was upbeat and happy, which, if he really was going to die soon, would be nice to hear one last time. After about five minutes of uncomfortable silence, with 264 happily humming along, the elevator finally let out a ding and 264 led them out to what looked like a long corridor. After passing three doors on the left and two on the right, the small party turned the corner and encountered a large set of double doors, which 264 opened to reveal a majestic office inside.

Henry could hear Judith catch her breath the second they walked inside the large oval room. At a guess? He'd say it was 1500 square sheer size was amazing, but the artificial lighting made it seem like daylight. The only factor telling them the elevator had brought them down and not up was the windows. Instead of blacking them out or putting up a projection of outside, or you know, NO windows, there was a piece of glass and soil.

Henry watched disgusted as something moved on the other side of the window, revealing a strange... Worm-dog? He wasn't sure what to call it; it was long and thin like a worm and yet it was huge and seemed to have floppy ears, a tail, and a small black nose sniffing through the soil. Fern also seemed horrified by the thing in the window, and he made a move for his pipes, until Henry turned to him and shook his head. "Not safe" he mouthed silently and gestured in the direction of 264. Reluctantly, Fern let the pipes hang from the cord around his neck and crossed his arms. Before Henry or Judith got a chance to stop them, Fern shouted out,

"Who did this?" 264 rolled his eyes.

"You will be meeting the master behind these inventions in just a moment."

"Inventions?! They're freaks of nature! Experiments! That 'you' created!"

"I had no part in the creation of these creatures; I simply oversaw their growth and development. I was created to do much more-"

"You're an experiment" Judith interjected. Henry couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before; the way the computer had called him a subject, how he was 'created,' and how he had a number for a name.

"What did they do to you?" Henry asked 264, though he was now uncertain if he was a person or not. "Did they give you that scar?" At the mention of the scar 264 only rolled his eyes and laughed.

"This scar was given to me on my first, ah, adventure. It brings back memories that I would not care to revisit. I don't want you asking any more-"

"Oh don't let me interrupt the backstory, it's seems you're having too much fun. 264, you didn't scare the children too bad did you?"

"Of course not sir, I did just as you asked and brought them here."

"I'm sure you did. Dismissed 264."

"Yes sir."

"Now for you- Judith, Henry, you look exactly the same! Do you remember me? We went on a quest together once." The man's voice was filled with a sort of nostalgic happiness, like he had just reunited with old friends.

Judith spoke up first,

"How do you expect us to know you or if we have ever been on a quest with you before? Your 'experiment' dragged us down here. We could barely defend ourselves!" Judith turned to look at the boys for confirmation on her words. They both nodded in agreement.

"Well this is certainly interesting; you don't seem to remember anything occurring before this life. I've never been reborn before, so if I could learn the rules... Well it would certainly be valuable information. Judith, is your mother still Athena? Henry, are you still a son of Nike?"

"What are you talking about? What rules? And if you hadn't noticed, we're a little young to remember the 1940's." Phem shook his head and gave a low chuckle. "Also, did you just name off gods? Like from mythology?" Henry couldn't believe this guy knew about them already, no way was he going to confirm their godly heritage for the dude as well. The way the man leaned against the desk was unnerving; he looked like a cat that had just caught the mouse.

"So you don't remember anything from your former lives? I see you kept your names and parentage at least. I assume so, that is. You made a lame attempt at covering up the fact the gods are real Henry. Your hesitation in answering fortified my knowledge on you two," remarked the strange man.

"Parentage?" Judith said, almost in a daze, "You don't mean, oh gods! When you say former lives, you mean we died, and chose to be reborn again?!"

"Surprise, surprise, the daughter of Athena wins the prize. In your first quest we were together. On a trip to investigate Gaea's forces no less. That's what you're up to now, correct? Needless to say though, you died on that quest."

"Died?! How?"

"You mean you haven't guessed yet? I suppose you'll find out soon enough. All three of your lives will be revealed to you after your third death."

Finally Fern jumped into the conversation,

"So if you went on a quest with Judith and Henry in the 1940's, assuming you were about sixteen, then how is it you only look like, thirty or so?

"Ha ha! I never believed the satyr would notice that one! What was your name again? Bush? Tree? Oh no wait, Fern!" All of a sudden the intercom came on again with the same metallic voice,

"Subject 8675309 is currently in elevator 3 traveling to surface level." With a groan the man turned around to the intercom on his desk and began barking orders,

"Subject 264, report to elevator 3, bring the others with you and take care of the problem. A113 close off elevator 3 as well as the corresponding surface hallway. I want the building placed in lockdown. And someone bring me a coffee!"

"What is the subject escaping exactly?" Inquired Judith. Henry was wondering the same thing; it seemed like an awful lot of security for just one experiment. Meanwhile Fern had stopped paying attention the second the strange man asked, no demanded, for a coffee.

"Subject 869, no, uh 863? I don't remember the number I just know this 'unique life form' is difficult to control. Don't mess with crossbreeding, either they turn out wrong or they refuse to listen to you and participate in necessary tests. Just like those infuriating 'Avian Americans.'

"Wait, what are Avian-" the man cut Judith off and started what might be a goodbye.

"Unfortunately this is where we must depart-"someone in a hazmat suit finally ran in with a cup of coffee, releasing a moan from Fern "-and you've yet to learn one thing. My name."

"Which is...?" Prompted Henry.

"Phem. Now I really must be going and I do hope you enjoy your stay here. After all, you'll be alive only a short time longer." With that happy news Phem walked out the room into the hallway shouting more orders to any passerby.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note- **_

_My partner and I have been swamped with schoolwork lately, but I made sure the chapter would be posted today! Unfortunately, my partner in crime is not with me at the moment, so I might re-upload the chapter again later with her commentary. For now, I would like to present the third chapter! I hope you enjoy it as this is our last chapter in our three part prologue! Review! Find references! Enjoy the story!_

**_Disclaimer- _**_(I keep forgetting to do this!) __**If we owned Percy Jackson and Maximum Ride then why would we waste our time writing on Fanfiction? Rick Riordan and James Patterson own PJO and MR, respectively (the lucky ducks!).**_

_(la di da, just another innocent page break because I can't figure out how to do one with symbols!)_

Judith was fed up with Phem. He left them in his office with a guy in a hazmat suit and practically skipped out the room when he mentioned the fact that they would die soon. The only good news was Mr. Hazmat not only told them his name, but he had a normal sounding one; O'Brien. O'Brien led them to... Well, she wasn't even sure where 'here' was, except that they went down a staircase and entered in the third door on the left. It appeared to be a sort of prison cell, with a bunk bed in one corner and a bucket and sink in the other. Her mind was still swirling with the information about her first death and the fact she and Henry had decided to be reborn. If this was their third life though, considering they were reborn immediately after death, then this was her last life before maybe traveling to the Isles of the Blessed. What she still didn't understand was how Phem was so young, he said it himself that he had never been reborn, so what was his secret?

'I wish I could have kept my past lives memories; maybe that would provide some insight into who Phem is' she thought to herself. One thing Judith was certain of though was that she, neither the boys, would be helping Phem. She wasn't even sure who or what 'Avian Americans' were, but if they were enemies of Phem, then she would be their ally.

A short time after being thrown in the cell Fern, Henry, and she were called to receive a tour of their 'new home' as 264 put it. Judith noticed the new scratch adorning his arm and the faint limp in his walk.

"Probably from his recent battle," she heard Henry murmur behind her. She nodded her head in agreement.

The first room they visited had a small child lying on a metal table, with a tail sprouting from his back side and unnatural claws coming from his hands. There were no doctors in the room, but the kid was hooked up to what Judith believed to be five different IVs. 264 quickly ushered them from the gruesome sight to a smaller room that had a bookcase and computer in it. Turning around to face the three teens, he said

"This is the only computer on this floor with internet access. Anything you can't find in the bookcase, you may search online."

"Why are you telling us this?" Henry asked 264.

"If you are to be of use you will have access to research. Be warned though, everything in this room is monitored, same with the computer. Phem wanted me to let you guys know that you have one hour before you are sent back to your cell for bed. Spend it well." With that 264 walked out the room and closed the door behind him.

"Well, if we're supposed to be researching, I say we look up Fang." Fern said a few moments after 264 walked out.

"Sure, why not. Although I can't be the only one who finds it strange that they're just leaving us here." Judith spoke quietly. Still, if they were being given time to do what they wanted; she ought to spend it well. With that Judith turned around to face the computer and sat in the chair. She quickly pulled up Google and searched Fang. Of course, all that popped up were vampire websites, bat websites, and a dentist page. Rolling her eyes at Fern and Henry's snickers, she typed Avian American into the search box right before Fang. This time, when she hit enter a video popped up as well as something resembling a blog by Fang. Immediately she felt herself clicking the link and knew that this was the Fang they were looking for. She was not expecting the information that popped up.

* * *

You are reading Fang's Blog. Welcome!

You are visitor number: 4,850

Date: Already too late!

Whatever the tally counter at the top tells you, your number is actually way higher than that. Our counter thing broke, and we finally got it working again. But it started again at zero. Anyway, thanks for checking in.

* * *

The rest of the entry went on to explain some recent daily occurrences. By clicking through links the three teens learned of the Flock, six hybrids, 98% human 2% avian, who were constantly being targeted by the school. Their leader was Max, and second in command was Fang. Through Fang's blog, numerous fuzzy video clips, and pictures, they learned that each member of the Avian Americans were tall, skinny, and ate 3000 calories a day when they could. Judith couldn't tell what the boys thought of these hybrids, but she was quick to realize they could be their saving graces. Her mind was already searching for things to tell Fang so he would come rescue them. All she had to do was type it on the comments page, Fang appeared to check regularly, so they wouldn't have to wait to long for Fang to discover the message. She just didn't know what to tell him to convince him that they weren't enemies. Before she could even start a message though, 264 showed up out of nowhere and started barking orders at them,

"Get up. We are leaving now to return to your quarters. Judith, shut down everything and don't even think about messaging them. They cannot help you. Tomorrow you will be subjected to your first experiment. Phem is interested to see how demigods fare in his tests." They were now in front of the door to their cell, and 264 all but pushed them inside. Judith noticed the old combination lock adorning the door.

* * *

"So, what do you guys think of Phem?"

"Look Fern, I know you're just trying to lighten the mood, but I'm still getting over the concept of kids with wings and the fact that my third life could end any day now." Judith was mulling over the same facts as Henry, but she still didn't think he had to be so curt with Fern. Unfortunately she couldn't think clearly now, after all, tomorrow she would be subjected to the same tests that Fang had warned about.

"Hey Fern, you know how to pick a lock right?" Judith wanted to know if he could maybe break them out of the cell and take them into the computer room where she could send a message to Fang.

"Wha-a-at? Of _course_ I don't know how to pick locks."

"Sure you do," Henry spoke up, "you picked the lock at the camp store that one night we went in for a coffee raid."

"What!? That was you guys?" Both the boys shrunk under Judith's glare. "You do realize they didn't let anyone have coffee after that for a week! I may not be as bad as Fern, but I usually need a cup a day!"

"Chill Judith, you got over didn't you?"

"Yah, _now_." Judith slumped against the wall and put her head in her hands, her reasoning for asking about locks in the first place momentarily forgotten. 'What am I doing? I just want to be curled in my bed in cabin 6 with a nice book to read. I don't know how to deal with quests and strange men with weird names or anything outside of my comfort zone!' She was practically crying, but who wouldn't? She was so overwhelmed by the day's events that death might be okay.

"Fern? I need you to pick this lock so we can get to the computer room."

"You got it boss."

* * *

"C'mon, everybody in!" Henry was leading them through the corridors, helping them to dodge any security guys or cameras that could report them. Luckily, they seemed to break into the room with no issues.

"Alright, Fern you break the lock. Judith, can you hack onto their files? We need evidence that we can be trusted and proof that we are here."

"Got it."

"I can do that."

Judith admired Henry when he took charge; he seemed the most calm and disposed right when he started leading. As long as Judith wasn't the one doing it, she was happy.

"We're in." Fern whispered to her and Henry as he quietly pulled the lock holding the doors together.

With great care, Judith tip-toed in and silently booted up the computer.

* * *

"Alright Henry, I'm on their files now, hopefully not raising any alarms."

"Good job Judith. Fern, is anyone coming?"

"Nope, still clear. Not a single guard, I'm kinda surprised."

"Don't jinx it Fern," warned Henry. "The last thing we want is to be surrounded."

Judith browsed the files, searching for anything containing information on the Flock. She was surprised when she found the parentage of Max, and she hoped Fang hadn't mentioned it in his blog at all. After about twenty minutes of silence, where Judith was only interrupted twice from her work, she spoke up.

"All right, I'm finished typing in our message to Fang and I think you should read it before I post."

"Will do. Thanks for doing this Judith."

"Of course." Judith said, though she felt herself blushing. 'Thank goodness it's too dark to see anything!'

* * *

Dear Fang,

My friends and I have recently been captured by the School and are desperate for help. We've only just learned of who you are, and the Flock for that matter. We didn't even know such things as hybrids existed outside of science fiction till this afternoon.

Of course, the first thing your minds (should) jump to would be proof that you are not being set up for a trap and if we are actually here. I'll prove the latter first. Max's parents are Valencia Martinez and Jeb Batchelder. She has a half-sister named Ella. We discovered this by hacking their computer system. We have also seen horrible experiments that no one could even dream up, like a worm-dog mutant or a small boy crossed with what might be a tiger.

I cannot guarantee this will not be a trap, all I can say is they have told us that we will be tested on as soon as tomorrow. We're begging you for help to get us out of here. The situation is bigger than you may realize, and the consequences could span across generations.

Our location is Greece, outside of Athens in an old factory

Beware Subject 264

May the gods be with you.

Judith, Henry, and Fern

* * *

"Really Henry? 'May the gods be with you', what is this, Star Wars?"

"Just trying to lighten the mood, you write so seriously."

"If you hadn't noticed this is a serious situation!"

"Uh guys?" Fern cut in.

"What?" They both said turning from the screen to face Fern.

"You might want to send that message, people are coming and they don't look happy!"

"Quick, press post!"

"Yes Henry I'm going!" They anxiously sat staring at the screen for the connection to be made.

"It's done." Judith announced right when a group of human/wolves/machines broke inside, being led by Subject 264.

* * *

Judith was scared out of her wits; she and the boys were sitting in a white room with a dirt floor and Phem right In front. What was frightening was how Phem looked; not seething with anger like Judith expected, but happy, with a smile on his face even. He had actually clapped his hands when they were brought inside.

"Now then children, I really should thank you. You performed your job even better than I could have hoped. It was really brilliant of you to hack into the School database and extract that information, you've really got Fang and the others convinced now. We never would have found out you guys were even using the computer though, if you hadn't gotten lazy about hiding your tracks Judith. I can't imagine what could have distracted you from it." Judith groaned inwardly. She must have forgotten to reroute the connection after she started typing the message.

"What 'job' did we complete for you anyhow?" yelled Henry, "you should be afraid cause we're gonna get busted out of here and you guys are gonna get beat up!"

"I'm so sorry my dear boy, but you see, that was the plan all along. I'm assuming either you or Judith received a message concerning Fang, and I mentioned Avian Americans, which prompted Judith to search the two together. After finding the blog, you all got the idea that they could, shall we say, fly in and rescue you. They will try no doubt, Fang is very loyal to his followers, but they will be walking into a trap, where I will finally be able to capture and keep them.

"So you were using us the whole time!"

"Of course Henry! I would have killed you long ago if I hadn't needed you. Now then, I applaud you on your lock-picking skills Bush-"

_"Fern"_

"Whatever. You didn't leave a mark on any of the locks. And Henry, good job leading them to the computer room, none of my guards were alerted. Unfortunately, I'm all done with you now, so it is time to say goodbye. I'll miss you though; I always kept tabs on your lives."

"Why?" It was the first thing Judith had said since they arrived in the strange room.

"Because, you and Henry were the only people at camp who were nice to me, and you let me join you on a quest." *sigh* "Now I must say goodbye for the last time." With that, Phem gave a curt nod and walked out of the room.

Judith was stunned, the whole purpose of the quest was to find a connection to Gaea, and instead she and Henry discovered their third life was about to end and horrible people experimented on harmless creatures and turned them into monsters. She still couldn't figure out how all this correlated to Gaea. Numbers don't lie, and everything was pointing to here for having the highest monster activity. Suddenly, as if to answer her question, a face formed in the dirt with its eyes closed.

"Gaea!" She heard Henry squeak, his eyes wide open.

'Welcome demigods to my home. I hope you've enjoyed yourselves; unfortunately it is now time for you to die. If you were more worthy, I'd let your blood spill on the steps to awaken me, but alas you are pathetic compared to the demigods I really want. You are lucky that your friend asked me to spare you, so enjoy your, somewhat, painless death!' Gaea's face melted back into the Earth and vents opened up in the ceiling, spraying noxious fumes into the room.

'Neurotoxins' thought Judith as the gas slowly sucked oxygen from her lungs and she was enveloped in darkness.

* * *

? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ? ﾟﾌﾻ _(Yay! Symbols!)_

"Well would you look at that." Subject 264 was cleaning out the bodies of Henry and Judith, but his face showed surprise when he looked to where Fern had been. He was perfectly aware that satyrs turned into plants or other aspects of nature when they died, but he kinda expected Fern to turn into something specific. After placing the bodies on a cart headed to the fire room, he went and found Phem.

"Sir, the bodies are going to be cremated now, what would like to happen afterwards?" 264 attempted to cover his surprise when he saw the red around Phem's eyes, but did so poorly. Phem quickly reached up and wiped at them, which only irritated his eyes more.

"I want their ashes placed in urns and shipped to Camp Half-Blood. Make sure they are given to Chiron and please, please make sure it is anonymous. I don't want anyone being able to trace it back here."

"Sir, if you don't mind my asking, what will happen to their souls?"

"I did my best to make sure Henry and Judith died like heroes, and I made sure Gaea would bring them no harm. With any luck, they are facing judgment and then will be headed to Isles of the Blessed."

"You should come see what happened to Fern though sir, it's a bit surprising." With that, 264 led Phem to the white room, which they called Ground Floor.

"Huh," Phem said upon arriving, "you'd think that a satyr named Fern would turn into a fern-"

"Just what I was thinking!"

"-not sunflower seeds. Fetch a pot would you and bring it to my office, these seeds will grow there." Phem turned on his heels with the seeds in his grasp, muttering the whole way to his office,

"Fern turned into sunflowers, not a fern!"

〰?￣ﾀﾰ


	4. Author's Note

_We decided that it was necessary to write this author's note to clear up any confusion on our prologue._

**Yes, I know there are no major characters, but this is a PROLOGUE! Meaning that everyone else (the Seven and the Flock, camp people and others WILL show up later, I promise).**

_We were hoping to get some reviews at least, at this point even flames would be welcome. We would like feedback on our prologue._

**Just seeing the traffic graphs isn't enough. (I review my favorite stories every so often)**

_Back to the story, yes Judith, Henry, and Fern died, but don't worry, there's a reason (which will be revealed when the actual story comes out)._

**Hopefully you guys like the actual story when it does finally get posted.**

_This prologue WILL be deleted after we decide to post the actual story, but it will be under the same name. I hope you like the actual story!_


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